Cantilever tension clamp and bracket

ABSTRACT

A clamp in which two clamping arms are disposed on a extending member to hold the arms apart from each other, with a tension element that draws the clamping arms against the objects to be held by the clamp. The tension element and the extending member may then operate as a bracket for attaching or mounting other objects to or on that which is held by the clamp.

PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. §119(e) and 37 C.F.R. §1.78

The present application claims the benefit of and priority from U.S.Provisional Application No. US61/036,473 entitled CANTILEVER TENSIONCLAMP AND BRACKET filed on Mar. 14, 2008.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

None.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a clamp in which two clamping arms are disposedon an extending member that positions the arms apart from each other tofit the object or objects to be held, with a tension element that drawsthe clamping arms against the objects to be held by the clamp. Thetension element and the extending member may then operate as a bracketfor attaching or mounting other objects to or on that which is held bythe clamp.

As tools clamps are well known and generally operate to force a pair ofjaws against a workpiece. Typical of such clamps is the C-clamp, whichutilizes a pad attached to a screw which engages threads in one of thejaws to force the object to be clamped with the pad against the otherjaw. Such devices are generally covered by United States Class 269,“work holders”, and United States Class 248, “supports”. Almost all ofsuch devices employ a screw mechanism to compressively drive at leastone of the jaws against the object to be clamped, such as the Clamp Tooldisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,328,891, the J-Clamp For Woodwork AndMethod Of Use disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,134,651, the Clamp Jawdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,935,628, the Clamp Fixtures disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 6,338,478, and the Clamp Mechanism disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 4,552,345. Although some other devices employ tension in one or moreof their elements to make the clamp operable, the present inventionappears to be unique in the employment of a tension element in the formof a rod or cable which draws cantilevered clamping arms (analogous tojaws in the above-mentioned patents) against the object or objects to beheld.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is contrived in view of the above-mentionedpoints. One object of the invention is to provide a clamp tool for theusual purposes of holding a workpiece in a particular position, or ofholding objects together. However, the principal object of the inventionis to serve as a bracket for attaching other objects to the object orobjects held in the clamping arms, such as attaching reflective panelsagainst the screen of a television set where the television set is heldin the clamping arms. The present invention achieves these objectives asa clamp in which two clamping arms are disposed on an extending memberthat positions the arms apart from each other to fit the object orobjects to be held, with a tension element and tensioner that draws thecantilever clamping arms against the objects to be held by the clamp.The tension element and the extending member may then serve as afoundation for attaching or mounting other objects to or on that whichis held by the clamp.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the fundamental embodiment of thecantilever clamp and bracket with integrated arms and extending member.

FIG. 2 is a second perspective view of the cantilever clamp and bracketshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the cantilever clampand bracket with one complex arm and one simple arm and non-integralextending member.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the cantilever clampand bracket with two complex arms and a non-integral extending member.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the cantileverclamp and bracket with two complex arms and a non-integral extendingmember.

FIG. 6 is a first perspective view of a binder clip assisted supportdisposed on a tension element.

FIG. 7 is a second perspective view of a binder clip assisted supportdisposed on a tension element.

FIG. 8 is a third perspective view of a binder clip assisted supportdisposed on a tension element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a cantilever clamp and bracket (hereinafterreferred to simply as “clamp” and/or “bracket”) in which two clampingarms are disposed on an extending member that positions the arms apartfrom each other to fit the object or objects to be held, with at leastone tension element that draws at least one cantilever clamping arm(hereinafter referred to simply as “arm”) against the object or objectsto be held by the clamp. A tension element may be a rod, a cable, or twoconnected rods or cables. The tension element is caused to draw an armagainst the object to be held by a tensioner operating on the tensionelement that pulls one clamping arm toward the other. A tensioner may bea threaded nut screwed onto a tension element that is a threaded rod, oranother well known device for creating tension along cables or rods,such as a racheting tensioner. Drawing one of the arms against theobject to be held causes the other arm to be drawn against the object tobe held from the opposite direction, thus clamping the object. The clampmay have a single tension element with a tensioner connected to one orboth of the arms, or may have two tension elements, each connected toone arm with a tensioner. Where only one arm of the clamp is connectedto a tension element, the other end of the tension element must beconnected to the extending member either directly (not shown in thedrawings) or to a tension stop attached to the extending member orintegral with the arm via a cantilever brace.

The aspect of the invention which provides a bracket for attachment ofobjects to the object held by the clamp may be carried out with supportsheld in position on either the tension elements or the extending member.Such objects maybe attached to such supports with any means ofattachment, such as clips, bolts, adhesive, etc.

The present invention will be further described in detail with referenceto the drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the fundamental embodiment ofthe invention, where two clamping arms 1 are integral to an extendingmember 2, and are connected by a single tension element 3 that is a rodor cable 3 with provision for a threaded end and a single threaded nut 4as the tensioner 4. The clamp operates to hold the clamped object 5 bythe rotation of the threaded nut tensioner 4 on the threaded end of thetension element, which draws the arms 1 against the object 5 to beclamped. This operation of the clamp is the same as the fundamentalembodiment for all of the various embodiments of the invention. One suchembodiment is shown in FIG. 3, where the arms 1 are not integral withthe extending member 2, but are attached to the extending member 2 via acantilever brace 7, either permanently as with welding or rivets, oradjustably along the extending member as with bolts (neither means beingshown in FIG. 3). In FIG. 3 the extending member 2 is shown as a channelto providing stiffness between the arms 1, but may have otherconfigurations for that purpose, such as with an angle or a “T” crosssection. Although in FIG. 3 the arms 1 are shown at the ends of theextending member 2, the clamp may operate with the arms 1 eitherpositioned beyond the end of the extending member 2, or within theextent of the extending member 2, as long as the cantilever braces 7 canbe securely attached to the extending member 2. The clamp may beadjustable within the limits afforded by the dimensions of the extendingmember 2 and the cantilever braces 7 with either multiple holes or slotsfor bolts in either or both the cantilever brace 7 or the extendingmember 2. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 the cantilever arm 1 maybeeither simple, comprised of an arm 1 with an integral cantilever brace(as shown on the second segment 10 of the extending member 2,hereinafter referred to as a simple arm), without any attached tensionelement; or complex, comprised of a arm 1 with an integral cantileverbrace 7 and integral tension stop 6, and a tension element 3 connectingthe arm 1 and tension stop 6 (as shown on the first segment 9 of theextending member 2, hereinafter referred to as a complex arm assembly).(FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 show a break 8 in the extending arm 2 that is intendedto show that both the first segment 9 and the second segment 10 aresegments of the same integral extending arm 2. The brackets with thereference numbers 9 and 10 are intended to apply across the entiredrawing sheet to FIGS. 4 and 5 as well as FIG. 3.) The tension stop 6,is a restraint that checks the motion of the end of the tension element3 as the nut tensioner 4 is tightened to draw the arm 1 connected to thefirst segment 9 against the object to be held in the clamp. The actionof the complex arm assembly on the first segment 9 as a result of thetension drawing it against the object to be held cooperates with theaction of the simple arm on the second segment 10 and also draws itagainst the object to be held. Of course, the clamp will operate in thesame manner if the configuration of the simple arm and the complex armassembly is inverted on the extending member 2, so that the simple armis on the first segment 9, and the complex arm assembly is on the secondsegment 10.

The same operation is also obtained from the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4and 5 using a complex arm assembly on the first and second segments.That is, the action of one of the complex arm assemblies of theseembodiments in drawing the included arm 1 against the object to be heldwould also cause the arm 1 of the other complex arm assembly of theembodiment to be drawn against the object to be held. The onlydifference between these embodiments and that shown in FIG. 3 is thatthe tension that is holding the arms 1 against the object to be held isbeing generated by two complex arm assemblies rather than one, and maythus be shared by the tension elements 3 of both. The difference betweenthe embodiment shown in FIG. 4 from that shown in FIG. 5 is that thecomplex arm assemblies are located inside the channel configuration ofthe extending member 2 in the latter. Such location of the complex armassemblies results in greater stability of the complex arm assemblies inthe operation of the clamp, and is therefore the preferred embodiment.

Service of the invention as a bracket for attaching other objects to theobject held in the clamping arms is accomplished with the means of asupport attached to either the tension element 3 or the extending member2. One such support is shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 in various perspectiveviews in relation to a tension element 3, which may be used for thepurpose of attaching a panel against the screen of a television setwhere the television set is held in the clamping arms 1. The point ofattachment of the support to the tension element 3 is the support tab12, which may be secured in any convenient way, one of which is astandard binder clip (not shown in the Figures) applied from thedirection of the support connecting plate 11 so that the support tab 12enters the binder clip before the tension element 3. An object (notshown in the figures) such as a panel may then be secured to the supportconnecting plate 11 in any convenient way, one of which is also astandard binder clip. Another type of support may have two integratedclips, one for gripping the panel and the other for gripping the tensionelement, thereby attaching the panel to the tension element.

While the invention has been disclosed in connection with a preferredembodiment, it will be understood that there is no intention to limitthe invention to the particular embodiment shown, but it is intended tocover the various alternative and equivalent constructions includedwithin the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

1. A clamp and bracket comprising: (a) two clamping arms disposed on atleast one extending member apart from each other; (b) at least onetension element connected to at least one of said clamping arms; and (c)at least one tensioner disposed to induce tension in that tensionelement, so that the clamping arms are drawn against one or more of theobjects to be held by the clamping arms.
 2. The clamp and bracket ofclaim 1, wherein the tension element is connected to both clamping arms.3. The clamp and bracket of claim 1, wherein the clamping arms areintegrated with the extending member.
 4. The clamp and bracket of claim1, wherein said at least one tension element is a rod or a cable.
 5. Theclamp and bracket of claim 1, wherein said at least one tension elementis at least partially threaded.
 6. The clamp and bracket of claim 1,wherein the tensioner is a threaded nut.
 7. The clamp and bracket ofclaim 1, wherein the tensioner is a racheting tensioner.
 8. The clampand bracket of claim 1, wherein said at least one tension element isconnected to only one of said clamping arms.
 9. The clamp and bracket ofclaim 1, wherein the tension element connected to one of said clampingarms is also connected to a tension stop operably associated with theclamping arm.
 10. The clamp and bracket of claim 1, wherein the tensionelement connected to one of said clamping arms is also connected to atension stop located in the direction from which tension draws theclamping arm against said one or more of the objects to be held by theclamping arms.
 11. The clamp and bracket of claim 1, wherein cushionpads are attached to one or more of the clamping arms where it is incontact with said one or more of the objects to be held in the clampingarms.
 12. The clamp and bracket of claim 1, wherein one or more supportsfor one or more objects to be attached to the object to be held by theclamp and bracket are disposed in position on either the tensionelements or the extending member.
 13. A clamp and bracket comprising:(a) two clamping arms disposed on at least one extending member apartfrom each other; (b) a tension element connected to at least one of saidclamping arms; (c) a tensioner disposed to induce tension in the tensionelement so that one or more of said clamping arms are drawn against oneor more of the objects to be held by the clamping arms; and (d) one ormore supports disposed in position on either the tension elements or theextending member for attaching one or more objects to said one or moreobjects to be held by the clamping arms.
 14. The clamp and bracket ofclaim 13, wherein the tension element is connected to both clampingarms.
 15. The clamp and bracket of claim 13, wherein the clamping armsare integrated with the extending member.
 16. The clamp and bracket ofclaim 13, wherein said at least one tension element is connected to onlyone of said clamping arms.
 17. The clamp and bracket of claim 13,wherein the tension element connected to one of said clamping arms isalso connected to a tension stop operably associated with the clampingarm.
 18. A clamp and bracket comprising: (a) two clamping arms disposedon at least one extending member apart from each other; (b) at least onetension element connected to at least one of said clamping arms; (c) atensioner disposed on at least one of said tension elements to draw oneor more of said clamping arms against one or more of the objects to beheld by the clamping arms;
 19. The clamp and bracket of claim 18,wherein at least one tension element connected to one of said clampingarms is also connected to a tension stop operably associated with theclamping arm.
 20. The clamp and bracket of claim 18, wherein at leastone tension element connected to one of said clamping arms is alsoconnected to a tension stop in the direction of which tension draws theclamping arm against said one or more of the objects to be held by theclamping arms.